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Post by No longer vanless on Sept 26, 2015 20:49:48 GMT 10
Helllo!
We just bought our first vintage caravan! After years of searching...
But we can't find much information regarding it. We found limited information about Supalite on here but not the Viking model.
We would love to know more about it or see photographs/advertisements.
Are there any other Supalite Viking owners out there?
:-)
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 26, 2015 23:23:16 GMT 10
Hi Vanless, I'm glad to hear that you no longer live up to your forum name, and are no longer 'vanless'. I see from your posts that you have been looking for a vintage van for quite a considerable time. It's really exciting to hear that you have acquired a Supalite Viking. DC3TD has already referred you to the Supalite thread on the 'Down History Lane' section of the forum, and I think you may already have found that thread yourself? In any case on that thread there is an extract from the 1956 Winser caravan manual which lists the Viking model as 9 ft and in between the Atom and Week-enda models in size, but that's really all we know about it. I'm pretty certain that yours is the first Viking we've heard of in the flesh (wood?) on the forum. That's why it's exciting news! It would be great if you could post some photos of your van so we can all see it and admire it!  There are instructions on how to post photos via an online photo storage system such as Photobucket in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section. If you can't figure it out, just give us a yell and I or someone else will try to help you. Alternatively you can email your photos to me and I'll post them on your behalf. If you click on my forum name in blue in the panel to the left of this post, a wiondow will pop up that gives you my email address. It will be great to hear more about your van. Don Ricardo |
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Post by No longer vanless on Sept 27, 2015 8:01:10 GMT 10
Hello Don!
That's very kind. Thank you for your reply. Yes, we found that post and that's all the information we've got about our model.
In regards to its history, we are the third owners. We have been told that it was originally a rental van and then purchased by its second owners who had it for over 40 years. I
It has travelled from Sydney to Cairns twice as well as Sydney to Adeladie twice with them. It had however been in storage for the last two years.
It is an aluminum exterior and wood interior all of which is in good condition. It is primarily in its original condition from what we can gather with the exception of curtains and flooring covering.
We would love to restore it to its original glory but finding information on how it looked may prevent that. We will do it justice.
I have a few images so far which I will email direct to you if you don't mind.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 27, 2015 23:17:26 GMT 10
Hi all, Following are photos of Vanless' Supalite Viking, posted on her behalf:      Vanless, what a surprise your van is! When I saw that it was a 9 footer, I expected that it would be the same shape as a Wee-Kenda or an Atom, but instead it is like a smaller version of the 10 ft 6 in Supalite Cadet model! It was also exciting to see that it has the same translucent glass/perspex name plate as the later (ie late 50's) Cadets, but clearly stating that it is a Viking. The other thing that I was excited about is that under the paint over the wheel arches you can make out the little red wings which were a Supalite signature feature. You can see them on photos of various Supalites. The fact that your van is like a smaller version of a Cadet will probably help you work out how to restore it to original condition. We have a few photos of Cadets which I think will provide a guide as to how your Viking was when it was new. I have dug around the forum and found some photos of a Cadet as well as an advert from 1961 which you will provide some information for you. The Cadet we have photos of has wooden framed windows and bondwood cladding, so that means that it is earlier than your van, which has the aluminium framed windows, but it is still a similar overall design. I'll post the photos and the advert shortly. Don Ricardo |
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Post by No longer vanless on Sept 28, 2015 7:56:19 GMT 10
Hi again Don,
Thank you for posting. Yes, when I first came across photos of a cadet I thought it was the same as ours but as you have stated ours is clearly branded as a Viking and has a different material of build.
Thank you for letting me know that the flames were red. I can not wait to see them return to their former glory.
Any suggestions as to what colour the rest of the body may have been?
I look forward to your next post. It's wonderful being able to discuss of little van.
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Post by akeepsake on Sept 29, 2015 21:06:59 GMT 10
Hi Vanless and what a cracker of a rare little superlite you have there! It's going to come up a treat !! In regards to matching colour it can be quite an easy process If you remove some of the original hardware (door handle, number plate bracket, clearance lights etc) you may find the original colour underneath otherwise try scraping back the current layer of paint with a sharp chisel . It should be there somewhere! Even a light sand around where the wings once were may give you enough of an outline to make templates of them for size and position. Yours may even have the stripe coloured band as well! It's amazing what you can find hidden under a few layers of paint
I'm a stiffler for original colours and stripes ! If you check out my retro thread on 1949 bond wood Jennison Pathfinder in the Down history lane section it may help as it took a bit of detective work to get my colours
Looking forward to seeing more as you progress
Cheers Andrew
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Post by No longer vanless on Oct 5, 2015 11:31:25 GMT 10
Hello Andrew, Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me. I hadn't thought about all this tips for finding our original colour. I'll be sure to check yours out. I look forward to sharing our progress with you.
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Post by akeepsake on Nov 16, 2015 20:20:50 GMT 10
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Post by Mustang on Nov 16, 2015 20:26:05 GMT 10
Love that fan!!!!
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Post by No longer vanless on Nov 18, 2015 17:30:14 GMT 10
Thanks mustang. Just a cheap on from Kmart. :-)
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Post by Mustang on Nov 18, 2015 19:19:44 GMT 10
Thanks mustang. Just a cheap on from Kmart. :-) You got me !!!! I thought it was original  |
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Post by No longer vanless on Nov 18, 2015 19:56:03 GMT 10
Hahaha. I'll find an original one day.
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Post by akeepsake on Dec 17, 2015 16:23:35 GMT 10
Latest picks posted on behalf of No longer vanless Looking very nice! Well done!    |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Dec 18, 2015 21:05:36 GMT 10
G'day No Longer Vanless, Congratulations on the Viking. It looks fantastic! And I love the Supalite red wings. People tell me that red cars go faster, so no doubt the red wings will make your van go more quickly as well!  Seriously though, it is great to see your van with that special Supalite touch. Don Ricardo |
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Post by No longer vanless on Jan 7, 2016 16:05:07 GMT 10
Thanks for posting akeepsake!
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Post by No longer vanless on Jan 7, 2016 16:06:07 GMT 10
Thank you very much Don Ricardo. HAHA. Yet to spend a night in it. Time to work on the interior.
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Post by No longer vanless on Jan 7, 2016 16:07:38 GMT 10
Could someone please point me in the right direction of where I could source vinyl flooring for the van? I would like it to reflect the 1956 era.
TIA.
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Post by shesgotthelook on Jan 7, 2016 16:21:58 GMT 10
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Post by Jennison on Jan 7, 2016 20:51:40 GMT 10
It looks just like reddos old superlite
A dead ringer
Jenno
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Post by akeepsake on Jan 7, 2016 23:26:29 GMT 10
Have a look in the technical section that SGTL posted a link to to get ideas! You can make it or break it with floor coverings and you can't beat original Lino tiles !
Shame your not in Tassie as I have some rolls of original old Lino Anyway do your homework first . I have seen many original restos with terrible flooring and it just doesn't look right!
Just my opinion
Cheers Andrew
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Post by Don Ricardo on Jan 8, 2016 12:00:55 GMT 10
It looks just like reddos old superlite A dead ringer Jenno G'day Jennison, Around the same era, but different model. This is a 9 ft Viking model, whereas Reddo's was a 10 ft 6 in Cadet model. I think this Viking is a bit younger than Reddo's van too because it's got alumuminium windows and Reddo's had wooden windows. Don Ricardo |
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Post by No longer vanless on Jan 9, 2016 9:48:09 GMT 10
Have a look in the technical section that SGTL posted a link to to get ideas! You can make it or break it with floor coverings and you can't beat original Lino tiles ! Shame your not in Tassie as I have some rolls of original old Lino Anyway do your homework first . I have seen many original restos with terrible flooring and it just doesn't look right! Just my opinion Cheers Andrew Great advice. Thanks Andrew. I've been wanting an excuse to go to Tassie. Never been! |
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Post by strugglebrook on Jan 10, 2016 8:52:21 GMT 10
Good morning People, Yes there are a lot of similarities between the Viking and the Cadet. We have Reddo`s Cadet, the sink and cupboard doors are the same and yes Don being a `56 it has timber windows.
Took a lot of swapping to get it off Reddo, they are a great van.
JD.
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Post by akeepsake on Jan 10, 2016 9:50:18 GMT 10
Good morning People, Yes there are a lot of similarities between the Viking and the Cadet. We have Reddo`s Cadet, the sink and cupboard doors are the same and yes Don being a `56 it has timber windows. Took a lot of swapping to get it off Reddo, they are a great van. JD. Yes JD you have a nice van there! I have always liked the Superlite and yours and Vanless are top little vans ! There was an ice one up for sale in sSydney last year with history and was very tempted but have no room I'll pot one on the bucket list! Cheers Andrew |
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Post by No longer vanless on Jan 28, 2016 16:21:30 GMT 10
That's so helpful! Thank you so very much shesgotthelook. |
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